Exploring the South Pole Telescope

"By far one of the most impressive structures here at the south pole is the South Pole Telescope. This gigantic microwave telescope is housed in the Dark Sector Laboratory, and features the iconic satellite dish extending out the roof. Over the course of the Summer 2012-2013 south pole season, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a bit of time over at the telescope"

"The South Pole Telescope is a 10 meter diameter telescope operating at the NSF South Pole research station. The telescope is designed for conducting large-area millimeter and sub-millimeter wave surveys of faint, low contrast emission, as required to map primary and secondary anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. The SPT is a collaboration between the U of Chicago, UC Berkley, Case Western Reserve University, U of Illinois, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and is primarily funded through NSF OPP."